The Electronic Privacy Information Center has obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act showing that TSA workers in Boston have reported elevated rates of cancer, and that TSA workers’ requests to wear radiation-detecting badges have been denied. According to this account, TSA workers in Portland and Puerto Rico have also reported higher incidences of cancer.

In a letter to Dr. John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the concerned UCSF scientists last year warned:

Our overriding concern is the extent to which the safety of this scanning device has been adequately demonstrated. This can only be determined by a meeting of an impartial panel of experts that would include medical physicists and radiation biologists at which all of the available relevant data is reviewed.

An important consideration is that a large fraction of the population will be subject to the new X-ray scanners and be at potential risk, as discussed below. This raises a number of 'red flags'. Can we have an urgent second independent evaluation?

It’s time to loudly echo the calls of Independent Institute Fellow Art Carden and Rep. Ron Paul to abolish the TSA--which is unaccountable and immune from liability should it fail to protect travelers from either terrorist attacks or health hazards--and return airport security to private firms who can and would be held accountable, including for health dangers.

In the meantime, air travelers may wish to carry a copy of the warning letter from UCSF scientists, and copies of these articles (here and here) that cite increased cancer among TSA workers, to hand to the next TSA agent who tries to herd you through a machine only the government says is safe.